What is said between gentlemen,stays between them
by Mad Steph
Summary: Original Sin/GwtW crossover. What would have happened if Rhett Butler had met Luis Vargas? Post Gone with the Wind Formerly known as "A conversation between two gentlemen".
1. A conversation between two gentlemen

**A/N:** What is this?

It's a crossover one-shot!

In the honour of April, the month of crossovers, I present to you the very first GwtW/Original Sin crossover fic !!

This was totally inspired by Corrin and her (ramblings about) love for (the one and only) Antonio Banderas, which led me to watching the movie Original Sin again (twice), me pimping the DVD out to (all) of my friends, and thinking, "hey, what if Luis met Rhett after the events in Original Sin and in the GwtW movie? Would he manage to convince Rhett that love conquers all? That it is possible for Rhett to forgive Scarlett for her mistakes? And that happy ends do actually exist?"

**For those who have never seen Original Sin**, you should probably watch the movie first but in case you can't be bothered, here's a quick recap of the facts: Luis and Julia met through what we could call the 19th C version of online dating, he pretended he was poor to not entice gold-diggers, and she (portrayed by Angelina Jolie) pretended she was ugly, so he wouldn't be in to her just for her looks, they get married, turns out she was a con artist and runs away with her accomplice and all of his money, he's love sick, he runs after her, she ends up killing her accomplice, she's about to be executed for murder but a priest helps her escape and her and Luis sail off to Morocco and supposedly live happily ever after by cheating at poker.

**For those who have never seen/read GwtW**, you should at least watch the movie but here's a quick recap: Rhett loves Scarlett, who thinks she loves Ashley, who sort of lusts after her but is in love and married to Melanie. After being widowed twice, Scarlett agrees to marry Rhett, for his money, and he pretends he just wants her for her body. Many tragedies and many deaths later, Scarlett discovers she doesn't love Ashley and that she has loved Rhett all along, but he's had enough and so he leaves her, slamming the door on his way out because he 'frankly doesn't give a damn' about her anymore.

So anyway, let's get on with the story (or the A/N will be longer than the fic itself), but remember, this isn't a love story, it's a story about love …

* * *

_Marrakesh, Morocco, July 1885 _

He had arrived barely an hour ago and he was already covered in sand from head to toe. His crisp white suit had turned to a yellowy shade of cream, and his skin was oily from his sweat. He wiped his forehead clean with the back of his hand and sighed.

He had spent the last five years in Paris, he wasn't used to this kind of heat anymore. Ironically, his mouth felt as dry as the Sahara itself, and he longed for a cool glass of water as he made his way through the various teapots and other trinkets displayed at the bazaar.

"Business or pleasure, my friend?" a voiced asked from behind him.

He turned around and came face to face with a tall tanned man, "I beg your pardon?"

"What brings you to Marrakesh? Business or pleasure?" he repeated.

"Business," he said casually.

"Well then, how would you like for me to introduce a little bit of pleasure in your day of labour?" the stranger smiled.

Rhett gave the stranger a puzzled look.

"How good are you at poker?" he asked with a glint in his eyes.

*****

"So how is it that you are asking strangers to play poker with you?" Rhett asked as he shuffled the cards his new acquaintance had just handed him.

"I'm too good, the locals are sick and tired of losing all their money to the likes of a foreigner, they flatly refuse to play against me any more, so I have to fish for my next victim on the street of the bazaar," he sighed pouring wine from a pitcher into two glasses. "So what brings you to Morocco Mr Butler? You said business, what kind of business exactly?"

"Importing some goods and exporting others," he replied.

"Ah, I see, commerce, it must be a very profitable business," the stranger commented.

"It is indeed. And what is your line of work, Mr …?"

"Vargas, Luis Vargas. As a matter of fact, I used to be in commerce myself, I exported coffee out of Cuba," he answered.

"Why did you leave that line of trade? Last I heard, coffee was still a pretty lucrative good," Rhett stated.

"Yes, well sometimes circumstances lead one away from the life one was born into. And when such things happen, either you fight against them and fail or you make peace with them and be happy," Luis replied.

"You Latin men are always speaking in riddles and puzzles," Rhett laughed. "So do you live permanently in Morocco?"

"For the time being," Luis nodded, gesturing Rhett to deal out the cards.

"What do you trade now since you have given up coffee?"

"Absolutely nothing," Luis said.

"You must have sold off a rather wealthy business to be able to afford to live like this," Rhett said while he glanced around the room, letting his eyes linger over the rich tapestries and carpets, the luxurious ornaments and the mosaics.

"Not really no," he sighed. "Actually, when I arrived here I had nothing. Not even a single dirham to my name," he smirked.

"Well …" Rhett began.

"Poker, my friend, poker," he simply said.

"Are you telling me that you survive and are able to maintain a life in all this extravagance thanks to your poker earnings?" Rhett scoffed.

"Indeed my friend, poker … and love, you must never neglect the importance of love in a man's success," he added.

"I don't believe in love," Rhett uttered under his breath, but loudly enough for his companion to hear him.

"What is that? You don't believe in love? How can someone not believe in love?" he asked as he put two cards from his hand down onto the table and picked another two up.

"Trust me, if you only knew what I have been through with women, you would understand," Rhett replied as he picked up three other cards and lay three of his own down on the table.

"Believe me, my friend, if I still believe in love so should everyone else," he smiled.

They played there game in silence for a while, until time came for the final stakes, "What did she do to you that was so terrible, that you lost all faith in the power of love, my friend?" Luis ventured.

"Why do you assume that a woman is at the origin for my disdain for love," Rhett said defensively.

"You are wearing a wedding ring that means that at some point you believed in such a sentiment," Luis pointed out.

"It could have been an arranged marriage," Rhett countered.

"You, my friend, in an arranged marriage? I have not known you very long, yet I still know how preposterous a proposition that would be, and also you speak like a scorned man."

Rhett Butler eyed the man facing him up and down, raking his mind to find a way to turn the tables in this conversation and take the control over it. "What makes you so knowledgeable on the matters of love and scorned men?"

"Because, my friends, if you allow me to be absolutely honest with you, as far as men betrayed by love go, I am most definitely their King."

"Really? Did she marry you for your money and spend your entire married life lusting after another woman's husband?" Rhett asked.

"Not exactly. She did marry me for my money, she then stole all of it and ran away with her accomplice lover. Cigar?" Luis said flatly as he pulled out a cigar holder, handed one to Rhett before taking another out for himself and lighting it.

Rhett stared at him blankly for a minute before asking, "And you still believe in love?"

"Worse than that, I still believe in my love for her," he sighed as he let the cigar smoke escape from his mouth.

Rhett looked at him stunned.

"I gave up everything I had for her," Luis continued. "And no, I have no regrets, if I had to do it all over again, I would do it all exactly the same way."

"I do not think I could be as forgiving as you are," Rhett said.

"Nonsense!" Luis exclaimed. "When you love someone, you can always find it in your heart to forgive them."

"I do not love her anymore," Rhett said.

"When was the last time you saw her?"

"Over ten years ago now, I suppose," Rhett sighed.

"If you do not love her anymore, then why are you still wearing your wedding ring? Why are you still grieving the loss of your relationship after more than a decade?" Luis asked, but he did not leave Rhett any time to answer. "Because, my friend, you still love her. She is under your skin, and in your blood, you will never be over her. She is your fate. If you do not go back to her, you will regret it for the rest of your life."

"But what if she has moved on? What if she does not want to see me anymore? As you pointed out, I have been gone for over ten years."

"That's a risk you will have to take my friend, or else you will regret it until the day you die. Royal flush," he said lining down an Ace, a King, a Queen and a Jack of Hearts on the table in front of Rhett.

The End


	2. Correspondance between two gentlemen

**A/N: **I just couldn't help myself.  
I just couldn't.  
So much for my one shot ...

* * *

_My dear friend Luis,_

_I arrived in Atlanta a couple of __hours ago._  
_Needless to say nothing happened as I had planned, but that was to be expected with Scarlett …_

***-*-*-*-***

After Luis had won the poker game, and several more, he offered Rhett a cigar and served him a, more than generous, glass of cognac that he must have won off of a French colonizer.

With the help of at least two dozens glasses of cognac, Luis and Rhett had went from being complete strangers to becoming best friends in the time span of one afternoon.

Luis told him about his beautiful wife, Julia, who's real name in fact was actually Bonnie, which lead Rhett to talk about his own, darling, little Bonnie.

The subject of conversation then derived from little Bonnie to her mother, Scarlett. Rhett confessed to having been completely intrigued by her when they first met, but that the intrigue had soon lead him to falling head over heels in love with her during the Atlanta bazaar.

Luis also admitted that the minute he met Julia -she would forever and always be Julia to him, he had found her absolutely fascinating, and had very quickly fallen madly in love with her.

Rhett shared the story of the time he and Scarlett had fled Atlanta together, under the Yankee threat, with a young child, a sick woman, an infant and a fearful slave in tow.

Luis mentioned the time when he had thought he had killed his wife's accomplice, and she had sent him to buy train tickets so they could flee the town, and by the time he had got back, she had cleaned up the scene of the crime, and that later on he would find out that he had not, in fact, really killed the man.

Both men then agreed that falling in love with these women had been their biggest mistake ever. It had almost sent one to jail, most probably with a death sentence, and it had nearly caused the other one to drink his life away, one thing was certain, it had both driven them practically insane.

"Why did you stay with her?" Rhett slurred.

"Because I love her, and I knew I would not be able to survive without her. Why didn't you stay with her?" Luis retaliated.

"Because I love her, and I thought my love for her would be the end of me."

Luis chuckled, "two men, two women, somewhat similar situations, identical motivations, but absolutely different outcomes, life is odd, isn't it Rhett?"

"Yes my friend it absolutely is indeed," Rhett concurred.

"You should go back to her, my friend," Luis went on. "Maybe it isn't too late for you."

"I should go back," Rhett sighed, the weight of the alcohol weighing heavily on his eyelids.

***-*-*-*-***

As he stepped off the train in Atlanta, he had to shield his eyes from the sun, so as not to be blinded. He looked around and saw no familiar faces. Of course nobody was expecting him, he hadn't set foot in town for a decade, but somewhere deep down in his mind, he had, at least, expected to recognise someone, anyone from his former life, even if that person had been Ashley Wilkes himself.

As he made his way to the place he -once upon a time called home, he took in his surroundings, being back in Atlanta was the strangest thing. Everything seemed different, but nothing had changed, that or everything was the same, but somehow different, he was not sure. It was an odd feeling.

As the carriage pulled up next to the Peach street house, he sighed heavily as he handed the driver his fare, grabbed his case, and walked up the front steps.

Once he was standing outside the door, he wasn't exactly sure of what his next move should be. Should he knock or just walk in?

After all he wasn't even sure Scarlett was still living there. True, he had not received any papers, while he was in Paris, concerning the sale of the House, but he would not put it past Scarlett, to have gone and sold it behind his back in spite.

"What if she actually had left Atlanta?" he panicked. "No, no, no," he thought, desperately trying to reassure himself. "Atlanta is her home, she has her mills, her store, her entire life, and she would never leave."

As he was still debating whether to just walk in or knock politely on the door, a voice startled him, "May I help you, sir?"

Rhett spun around, he did not know who was more shocked, himself or the young man standing face to him.

"Wade? Is that you?" Rhett said flabbergasted. The boy, he had entertained as a baby, and been a surrogate father to, was no longer a boy, he had grown into a man. Time had made it even more obvious that he was Charles Hamilton's son; his affiliation could absolutely not be questioned.

As much as he had inherited his father's sweet features, Rhett recognised a light in the young man's eyes as inherited from his mother.

"Uncle - Mr Butler? What on earth are you doing here, sir?" Wade asked him.

"I came to visit your mother; it has been a long time ..."

"A long time indeed," Wade cut in. "We haven't heard from you in years. Most of us assumed you were dead."

Rhett was slightly taken aback by the bluntness of the young man's tone; obviously there was more Scarlett in him than a mere glimmer in his eyes. "I know, son. I should have come sooner."

"Yes, you should have, and I am not your son, you made that crystal clear when you abandoned my mother, my sister and I, and left us without even a letter for over ten years," Wade stated bitterly.

It was at that moment Rhett realised the extent of his actions. By leaving Atlanta and running away like a coward, he had not only left Scarlett behind; he had also left her children. Children to whom he had promised to take of and treat as if they were his own blood and flesh. He felt a pang of guilt in the pit of his stomach, and he looked at Wade remorsefully, "Wade, I am so sorry. I truly am."

Wade gazed at him unconvinced by the meagre apology. "Mother is probably in the study, stay in the hall, I'll fetch her for you," he said as he brushed past Rhett and let himself into the house.

Rhett stood in the hall nervously, his heart beat accelerating with every single noise he heard. "This place has not changed a single bit," he thought.

The same heavy drapes hung next to the stained glass windows, the same rich red carpet covered the massive an imposing staircase. It was as if the house had remained stuck in time.

"Rhett?" a familiar voice asked from behind him.

It was her, the woman he had dreamed of, the woman he had dreaded, the woman who made his heart, body and soul travel through a whirlpool of emotions in less than a minute, it was Scarlett. Time had been very kind to her, and was apparently allowing her to age gracefully. The look in her eyes was softer, more tired perhaps.

The puzzled expression on her face, made him question whether he was welcome or not, especially after Wade's hostile greeting, so he decided to take a more cautious approach with Scarlett.

"I was absolutely certain you were dead," she said adamantly.

"Unless this is a dream, you can see that you got that one wrong, my dear," Rhett said, attempting to make a joke and release the pressure that seemed to have risen dangerously in the room.

"You stopped haunting my dreams long ago, Rhett Butler," she said, with a hint of melancholy clearly audible in her voice. She stared at him like she was visually assessing him for what felt like an eternity, before she asked in an almost whisper, "What in the name of God are you doing here? What possessed you to think that coming back to Atlanta would be anything but a bad idea?"

Rhett looked at her, slightly shocked by her words. "I had to see you," was all he could manage as he took a bold step forward and closed the distance between them a little more.

"You had to see me? You had to see me" she repeated incredulously.

"Scarlett, I made a mistake," he continued, caressing her cheek with the back of his hand.

"I can't believe this is happening," she said, as she stepped back out of his reach. "After all this time, you realised you made a mistake? After disappearing for over ten years, you suddenly realise you made a mistake?"

She looked at him sternly and added, "I don't believe a single word of what you just said."

"Why would I come back here, and admit that leaving you was the biggest mistake of my life if I didn't mean it, Scarlett! Be reasonable!" he said getting slightly annoyed himself.

"To taunt me, to dangle something I can never have in my face. You have done it before, it wouldn't surprise me if you did it again," she argued. "Well, it is not going to work Rhett Butler. I am truly and completely over you, just like you stood in this very spot and said you were through with me."

"Are you saying you want me to leave?" he asked her. "I'll take my bags and go and settle in at the hotel if you want me to."

"Frankly, to be entirely honest, I don't give a damn what you do," she spat out, using his own words against him. She turned her back to him before continuing, "But I have managed to redeem myself a little in the eyes of the good people of Atlanta, and I would very much like it to stay that way, and I'm not convinced that banishing you from my home would be the best idea to maintain my reputation."

She turned around to face him once more as she added, "You can stay in your old room. I'll get Pork to fetch you some linen. Dinner is at seven. Now, if you would please excuse me I have work to do."

***-*-*-*-***

… _So as you see, my friend, nothing went as I thought it would._

_It's not as if I expected her to be waiting for me to return with her arms wide open, I have been gone for over a decade, I knew she would be a bit bitter, but she was very clear in stating she was done with me. She even went as far as to quote my last words to her. _

_Hopefully, things will settle down, and as soon as the storm has passed, we will be able to have a normal adult conversation,_

_Take care, my friend,_

_Rhett Butler._

***-*-*-*-***

TBC? You tell me …


End file.
